


Time Bomb & Hand Grenade

by wolfzaa



Category: inFAMOUS (Video Games), inFAMOUS: Second Son
Genre: Character Study, Delsin is a Little Shit, Delsin isn't that dense, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eugene Needs a Hug, First Kiss, M/M, Mentions of Akomish Tribe, Minor Character Death (Mentioned), Past Abuse, Post-Good Karma Ending (inFAMOUS), Self-Esteem Issues, Swearing, blink and you miss it - Freeform, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 06:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17360936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfzaa/pseuds/wolfzaa
Summary: If Eugene didn’t want to kiss him, there would be Hellfire raining over his head by now. Delsin had seen how he ran, how he fought, and how he protected himself. They were totally different yet not different at all. They were born with bombs rooted in their bones, waiting to explode.Delsin couldn’t help he wasjust-throw-that-bomb-and-let-it-bekind of person.So fire in the hole.





	Time Bomb & Hand Grenade

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song [Rooftop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il3IbtDqgqI) by Nico Santos.  
>    
>  _Pick me up when I'm feeling low_  
>  _Pick me up and show me home_  
>  _All my senses just need to know_  
>  _Why your heart feels like gold_  
>  _Feels like gold._

 

Seriously, Eugene had never, ever, thought for a second that a normal conversation would turn into this. He should have guessed, really. He didn’t just meet Delsin Rowe yesterday, after all.

“C’mon, Eugene. Are you serious?”

He should have known. He was so, so, fucked.

“Shut it,” Eugene mumbled under his breath.

“Don’t you shut it me, man. How old are you again?” Delsin asked. He clearly wasn’t fazed in the slightest by the hacker’s weak attempt to drop the subject. Eugene bit his bottom lip as he pushed himself backwards until the back of his chair bumped into a desk.

“Delsin, please—”

“No, no, no,” the Akomish cut him off. “I know you’re not into all these socializing craps, but how the fuck is your mouth still virgin?”

Eugene stifled a groan.

“How about sheer luck and six years in Curdun Cay?”

Delsin grimaced. “Well, that’s fair.”

“Then—”

“But that’s not the point. If you don’t want to _ever_ kiss anyone, so be it, but if it’s just you’ve never got a chance to, then I can’t you live on like that, game boy.”

“I know my life is miserable, Delsin. You don’t have to emphasize that.”

Eugene was starting to think that he shouldn’t let Delsin into his basement at all. That man had never listened to him anyway—well, not _never_. That was exaggerated, but most likely, yeah, he never listened. Especially right now. It wasn’t that Delsin didn’t care, though; he was just _too loud._

Delsin went silent for a brief moment, pondering over the situation, then declared, “Nope, I still can’t let you live on this way. Kissing is a part of growing up, man.”

He doubted that.

“Can you just drop—”

“Speaking of which, I said I’d help you get laid, didn’t I?” Delsin continued, eyes hinting mischief. Eugene hated that look, or at least he was trying to fool himself. “Why don’t we start with the basics?”

Eugene struggled in his chair, hoping he could haul himself down the computer desk and hid there forever. “No!”

“No, as in _I-have-no-sex-drive-at-all_ no, or _kissing-people-sucks_ no?”

Eugene averted his eyes. It took him a whole minute to finally whisper, “...I’m not—asexual.”

“I...didn’t expect you to answer that, but thank you.” Delsin made a face, one that Eugene wasn’t quite sure if he was suppressing a laugh of just being awkward by a secondhand embarrassment. “Well, then. Shall we—”

“We shan’t—”

“Oh, wait. Should I ask Fetch instead?” Delsin changed his mind mid-track, completely ignoring him. _How short was this man’s_ _span of attention anyway?_ “That’s one good shit idea. She can teach you _things_.”

Eugene almost choked. “What? No! What are you even thinking!?”

“No? I thought you liked her,” Delsin said with a raised eyebrow. He stepped forward, lowered himself until their eyes were on the same level, then gave Eugene a chuckle. “You know what? Your blushing skill is kinda impressive. I’ve never seen anyone this red.”

Eugene wanted to scream, or so he did internally. Pulling his legs up to his chest as if they would protect him from the human-shaped mass of energy in front of him, the boy couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing here anyway? Did you come here just to—torture me?”

“Frankly, I’m just bored.”

“Then go beat up some D.U.P.s out there instead.”

“Interesting, but nope. I won’t miss the time of my life to watch you grow up, gamer boy.”

“Oh, for _fuck’s_ sake—”

Delsin grinned. “Atta boy. Now you’ve finally got a degree for swearing. Wow, I _am_ good.”

“Del—”

“C’mon, think about it,” Delsin sing-songed. He was practically towering over the boy by now. “It’s either me or Fetch. Now or never. Trust me; it’ll be good.”

Eugene was on the verge of having a panic attack. “It’s not funny. I’m—”

“Don’t you ever think about it?”

“N-no.”

“Look at me in the eyes and say that again, Eugene.”

“I—”

“Don’t you like me?”

“No, I—” Eugene stuttered. “Wait, what?”

“Let me get this straight: you’re a normal teenager driven by hormones. Been there, done that. Still be, even.” Delsin bent forward, glancing up and down Eugene’s skinny figure. His voice was surprisingly gentle as he asked, “You still don’t want to interact with people, I get it, but you don’t hate me, right?”

“That’s—not the problem.”

“You don’t wanna kiss? Have you ever wondered what would it feel like?”

“Yes, but—” Eugene gulped. _Shit, that was too close._ “But—”

“We can always pretend it never happened. No hard feelings, bud.”

“ _But—_ ”

“Close your eyes.”

“Delsin—”

“Or you won’t, I don’t care.” The Akomish shrugged. “You can stare as much as you want, but trust me, try not to do it with girls.”

Oh, fuck him.

Eugene’s brain stopped functioning right then, as though someone had pushed the switch button, and that someone was definitely Delsin. His world black-outed for a second, or minutes, who cared, before Eugene could realize that Delsin’s lips was pressing against his own.

_Was this his latest way to drain other people’s power? Possibly._

Panic rushed through Eugene’s veins for the first time after Augustine’s fall and his mind went completely blank. The feeling wasn’t as bad as when he was locked inside the school’s locker or chained to a machine, but it was close enough. Not that terrifying, but close. He couldn’t think straight and his body froze dead for God knew how long. Delsin’s face was too close for him to focus and— _holy fucking shit Delsin was actually kissing him. Hard._

_Like he wanted to._

Eugene was sure Delsin was going to be the death of him.

He didn’t have anything against Delsin, no, on the contrary, but kissing was absolutely off-limit. First of all, he had never kissed anyone. Second of all, nobody ever wanted to kiss him. Now, Delsin could choose anyone on earth but him. Why bothered kissing a meek, anti-social nerd when you were the city’s hero? Eugene couldn’t think of a single reason. He also forgot that he was a conduit; he could easily push Delsin away if he wanted to, but a part of him didn’t want the man to let go. Eugene didn’t even know what was going on anymore.

The boy eventually closed his eyes and surrendered. He had not enough inner strength to pull back.

His hands found Delsin’s jacket and held tight. He was definitely dying, okay. Delsin’s lips felt like fire and he smelled like ember. _Fuck it_ , he thought. Eugene had all the time in the world to panic but the kiss wouldn’t last as long. This might be one of Delsin’s wild, bad ideas. He might laugh it off the second they teared apart. Eugene wasn’t sure if he could handle that but as the kiss went on, he couldn’t care less.

Delsin had known all along that he wanted to kiss him. Eugene wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face—after they were done kissing and if he still had nerves to by then.

Eugene tried to kiss back and had no idea what he should do. How pathetic of him.

He had been pathetic all his life, though, so fuck it too.

Suddenly, Delsin grabbed the back of his neck, guided him to tilt his head just right, and Eugene was gone. His hand was burning Eugene wouldn’t be surprised if Delsin just absorbed smoke recently. The hacker groaned softly as he let himself feel everything he was too afraid to notice before: the way Delsin moved, the tingling feeling under his skin, that maddening sensation he had never known—

It was scary, in a good way, but scary nonetheless.

Delsin kissed him until he was out of breath. Eugene tried his best not to whimper and failed miserably. The Akomish retreated eventually. His eyes were gleaming with amusement, which only made Eugene blush even harder his brain almost short-circuited. He felt his power run through his veins, pixelating every inch of him and put it back together over and over again.

Yes, short-circuited was the right word.

“Why—” Eugene stuttered, “Why are you kissing me?”

“Why not?”

“No, I mean...why _me_?”

Delsin raised his brow. He hummed softly as he stepped backwards, eyes still fixed on Eugene.

“What? You don’t like it?”

“That’s not the problem.” God, how Eugene wanted to trap this man in his simulator and let him rot in hell. “You can’t just—kiss anyone, right? I’m this socially awkward and even _I_ know that rule!”

“I don’t recall any rule like that, though. Think about it: you, me, alone in the basement? Why not? It just felt right, man.”

“You’re insane.”

“Damn right I am.”

“Oh, god.”

Eugene had no idea how he put up with this man in the first place. He was everything Eugene wasn’t and they certainly came from different worlds. He tried to calm down and just _not_ panic but— _oh god, did Delsin just drink Corona before he came here?_ It didn’t taste that good—not that bad—but it lingered; he just noticed it. His mouth felt oddly empty and he just noticed it too. What the fuck happened to his brain?

Oh, right. Delsin happened.

“This isn’t funny,” Eugene mumbled coarsely. Delsin only shrugged.

“It’s not a joke either. Oh, and 101 tips for not killing the mood: first of all, don’t be that tense.”

Eugene pressed his lips into a thin line, glaring dagger at the man standing before him. “If you’re gonna mock me for—”

“What? No, no, no, dude. Stop right there,” Delsin cut in before grabbing both Eugene’s shoulders, narrowing the boy’s focus on him and him only. Eugene started, looking up like a deer in the headlights, while Delsin continued, “Let me try this again. Tell me, have you ever been someone’s fan and had a chance to kiss them?”

“Uh, no, but—”

“Give this a thought: have you ever been a fan of _someone who wants to kiss you_?”

Eugene blinked in confusion. He could only stumble out a “What?” and “Wait a minute—” when Delsin gave him another wink and pulled the hoodie down over his face. Eugene couldn’t stop an undignified yelp as his glasses fell off. By the time he composed himself, the other man had already vanished.

Eugene groaned and hoped it was all just a dream.

(The taste of Corona lingering on his tongue was weird. He should have dreamed of something better.)

 

* * *

 

There was a brief moment when Delsin thought Eugene fancied Fetch. That moment was completely ruined when they kissed, though. Of course, Eugene liked him.

This wasn’t his narcissism speaking. Nope. Not at all.

Well, hopefully.

No, seriously, he was pretty sure he wasn’t being delusional. Delsin lived on his gut instinct and he was right most of the time—or at least when he was calm enough to listen to it, that was. Thus he came to the conclusion that Eugene—and Fetch, to be honest—were pretty easy to read. It wasn’t so hard trying to read someone who was, as well, an outcast. They fell into the same old pattern: struggle, fly, fall, then try, try, and try again. They weren’t that complicated, after all.

Plus, if Eugene didn’t want to kiss him, Delsin wouldn’t be sitting here on the rooftop of a thirty-storage building, waiting for the boy to contact him. If Eugene compared him to those bullies the boy had faced back in schooldays, there would be Hellfire raining over his head by now. Eugene never held back his power, never could. He grew up that way, either tried to go completely off the radar, or fought all the way to hell and back so he could escape. Eugene was the type to regret things than not trying; Delsin was sure of that. He once called the boy a coward, judging by his appearance and attitude, but how wrong he was at that time. Delsin had seen how he ran, how he fought, and how he protected himself. They were totally different yet not different at all.

They were born with bombs rooted in their bones, waiting to explode.

Delsin clicked on his tongue. Eugene’s mint-flavored gum didn’t taste that bad. Fetch owed him ten bucks saying he wouldn’t dare kiss Eugene. Why the hell not? He might lose the bet if Eugene knew how people interacted properly, though. That kid didn’t even know how to hide his emotions; he was also a bad liar. Delsin knew it the moment Eugene stared at his lips for a little too long. The boy surely didn’t know how the word subtle worked.

But he was a good person. Better than Delsin, even. To him, Eugene was surprisingly attractive. He was a bright kid and he was savage as hell. His energy was captivating. His heart was pure gold. It was kind of sad to think the boy didn’t have a chance to grow up normally. At the same age, Delsin tended to build a love-hate relationship with the police department back home while Eugene was stuck with the machine behind D.U.P.’s training program for six meaningless years. It was sad to think that Delsin might have lived as much meaninglessly during the whole time.

They were losers before Augustine swept in. They were just the same—chained, stuck, trying to break free, wanting to break loose; only in different stories, out in different ways.

Delsin waited a little longer. Midnight was his limit. If Eugene refused to talk to him by then, he’d go for the boy instead.

He was an impulsive jerk, alright.

 

* * *

 

Eventually, Delsin called him. Three hours later, to be exact. It was only 6 p.m. and he already ran out of patience—oh, well.

“How about round two, Teen Angel?”

Eugene’s voice was half tired, half incredulous as he muttered, _‘You’re impossible.’_

Well, at least he didn’t hang up.

“Is that you being annoyed, not in the mood, or just interrupted from marching through the fifteenth level?”

_‘...None of above.’_

“Then what?”

_‘It’s just...not funny.’_

“I thought that case was closed.”

_‘How can it be closed—oh shit!’_

Delsin winced at the crashing sound—must be those piles of CDs or whatever the hacker placed on his desk. Eugene still wasn’t prepared for a confrontation or any kind of contact, Delsin realized, which wasn’t at all unexpected. Eugene could avoid his face for a whole damn year but Delsin preferred to skip all the drama and get on with it. Eugene was a freaking time bomb while he was a hand grenade; Eugene could wait until his time ran out, but the pin was already out. Delsin couldn’t help he was _just-throw-that-bomb-and-let-it-be_ kind of person.

So fire in the hole: “Alright, buddy, here’s the deal.”

_‘...Go on?’_

“I’m gonna go to your place tonight and beat your ass in that game you mentioned last week.”

 _‘What? Seriously!?’_ Eugene beamed, paused, then asked skeptically, _‘You’re not pulling my legs, are you?’_

“I gave you my word. Just us, that game, and nothing else, I swear,” Delsin answered with a satisfied grin. “For a change, you’re going to _my place_ with me tomorrow.”

There was a beat of silence. _‘...You mean...your place? With an entire...tribe?’_

“Not entirely, but yeah. There.”

_‘No...no thanks. I don’t think it’ll be a good idea.’_

“Our date night is cancelled, then.”

_‘That’s—’_

Eugene’s voice cracked and the boy stopped answering altogether. Delsin decided to give him a little push.

“So...?”

_‘...Damnit.’_

Well, that was an improvement. Delsin was quite pleased with himself. Luring Eugene out of his basement could be a lot more harder, especially when there were no Akurans, D.U.P., or conduits in distress involved.

Thus the deal was sealed. Eugene looked at him warily that night but let him in regardless. They sat separately in front of the screen. Delsin wasn’t that surprised. Barring around him and Fetch, Eugene’s personal space was noticeably far to begin with. He could deal with it later when they left the city.

Speaking of which—

“Have you ever left Seattle?” Delsin asked curiously. Eugene frowned.

“You mean in my entire life?”

“No, after Curdun Cay.”

“No—never.”

“Good.”

There was nothing much in Salmon Bay: the coast, the sea, the woods, a small town full of Akomish, and fish canneries. However, Eugene seemed like a city boy who had never been anywhere alike Salmon Bay in his life, not at peaceful time. Delsin’s rebellious streak and Eugene’s tendency to disappear didn’t happen for no reasons, after all. They were simply lost kids trying to find somewhere to belong.

Delsin found his a little too late.

The world robbed something from both of them, hiding Eugene’s in the crowd, drowning Delsin’s to the bottom of the sea. Delsin lost everything down the sea it was almost funny—the best of him, the worst of him, the only goodness, and the deepest, darkest part of him.

He had been a worse person. He truly had, before he threw that bomb away with pin intact as he watched Hank escape and decided to expose Augustine.

Everything could have been worse.

Betty sounded excited when he called her, saying he was bringing a friend home. Eugene, on the other hand, was nervous as hell Delsin didn’t know how to tell him to calm the fuck down. It wasn’t as if he was planning to introduce Eugene to everyone or that they were having a festival back in Salmon Bay. He only wanted the boy to meet Betty.

Everyone loved Betty. Eugene wouldn’t be an exception.

She seemed surprised to see the hacker, however. Apparently, she wasn’t expecting a nice boy in the form of a shaking mess hiding three steps behind Delsin’s back. Eugene was far too thin for her liking. The boy was too nervous, too shy, and didn’t know how to smile properly. The only time Delsin saw his genuine smile was after they defeated Augustine. It was full of pride and utterly sincere, not at all awkward, not a sign of nervousness. The boy still had a long way to go at socializing, but a simple shy greeting was enough for Betty. She had seen so much worse and Delsin knew it.

Yep, Delsin was quite proud of both of them.

After a quick visit at Betty’s place, they headed towards the lighthouse, away from the town. Eugene seemed relieved enough with the idea. Delsin knew he was blunt, reckless, and could be a jerk if he wanted to, but he wasn’t cruel enough to throw Eugene out in the crowd. The Akomish could be counted as _too-friendly-please-don’t-get-too-close_ by Eugene’s standard. The boy was going to be a nice shark-bait to friendly sharks named neighbors. One step at a time would be better for him.

The main reasons Delsin came back here were Betty and the coast anyway. He came back for the sea.

Seattle didn’t have any of these: the coast he grew up with, those sheer rocks he used to climb, the salty scented wind mixed with fresh air, or this old lighthouse marked by his graffiti.

Delsin just realized how much he missed home.

 

* * *

 

It struck Eugene right then: he knew nothing about Delsin Rowe.

He didn’t know how he grew up, how he dealt with his life, or why his heart was... _gold._

Eugene didn’t know a single thing about the man.

They landed by the lighthouse. Eugene looked around warily, glancing from the sea to the billboard over fish cannery sprayed with Delsin’s art. He didn’t really have a chance to look at anything but the monitor in a while. He was too busy trying to survive Augustine’s program to look closely to anyone. He hadn’t connected to anything but Heaven’s Hellfire since before he was captured, nor did anyone wanted to connect with him.

He didn’t have a chance to get a good look at Delsin.

Judging by the banner on the Space Needle, Eugene initially pictured the man as a hero—a rebel who dared stood up for their kind, an angel in human form. However, at first glance, Eugene only found a replication of his nightmare. Delsin wore the look of a delinquent just right. Eugene remembered how he was pushed down the school’s stadium, the taste of Coke poured down his head in the middle of canteen, and the way _they_ laughed. Delsin looked like them so much it hurt—all confident, loud, and shallow. Eugene still couldn’t comprehend how someone like that would be nice to him—or want to kiss him—if not for his power or to mess up with him.

Then there was Delsin, standing proud between everything Eugene loved and hated, admired and resent, with a golden heart and chaos in his eyes.

Eugene didn’t know how to deal with him.

Eugene tripped over a couple of times through the rough path as Delsin led him to the other side of the small island. The further they walked, the more he saw how Delsin belonged to this place. Of course, he grew up here.

It struck him, again, that Delsin belonged here with his tribe, with Betty, with this coastline and the shore and the sea—

Not Seattle.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Delsin said with a grin across his face, striding to the top of a large rock at the end of the way. “I used to jack Reggie’s boat to come here when I was younger. He had to borrow Betty’s boat to drag me back. It was freaking ancient, you know. I almost sank him one time. His face was hilarious.”

Eugene stopped behind him and frowned. “Oh.”

“You see sheer rocks over there? Those are my territory. Reggie couldn’t follow me there. Too high for him, I guess.”

“That’s...yeah, that’s cool.”

“I know, right?”

“...Right.”

Delsin glanced back at him. “Eugene?”

Eugene didn’t answer—couldn’t find his voice, even. He didn’t know where he should lay his gaze on anymore; it was too much. He had never been to anywhere like this. He was surrounded by everything that made Delsin and realized how much he envied him.

He pitied himself for that so much he wanted to disappear.

Eugene couldn’t hear what Delsin was saying either; he looked half worried, half exasperated, and Eugene didn’t know what to do. It was his default mode, wasn’t it? Being so lost and downright pathetic.

Then Delsin tugged his shirt close. _Was he throwing a punch?_ Eugene started instinctively, trying to block him, but Delsin was quicker and pulled him into a kiss.

It wasn’t funny at all.

Waves of emotions crashed. Every feeling he didn’t know its existent flooded furiously throughout his system like a broken dam. Delsin was kissing him as though he couldn’t care less whether Eugene was pathetic or not. The man just kissed him. Again, and again, and again.

Eugene had nothing else to lose. He’d rather die than push him away.

Kissing Delsin felt like coming home.

 

* * *

 

Delsin lost the best of him to the sea.

There he was, standing on the rocks forty feet above the sea with a time bomb in his hands. A grenade fell from his grasp and exploded, yet they were still there, _alive._

As they should be.

“...You didn’t learn anything last time, did you?”

Eugene stuttered, “H-huh?”

“About kissing, I mean.”

“I’m...uh...sorry?”

Delsin rolled his eyes, pulled Eugene’s glasses out of the way, and kissed the boy again.

_He’d learn, alright._

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is non beta and English is not my first language, so sorry for any error you might see here. Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading! :D
> 
> Btw, for Thai version: [จิ้มอ่านได้ทางนี้ค่ะ](https://writer.dek-d.com/wolf-zaa/writer/viewlongc.php?id=1197067&chapter=130)


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